Our holdings include hundreds of glass and film negatives/transparencies that we've scanned ourselves; in addition, many other photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs) in the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) They are adjusted, restored and reworked by your webmaster in accordance with his aesthetic sensibilities before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here. All of these images (including "derivative works") are protected by copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions and may not be sold, reproduced or otherwise used for commercial purposes without permission.

October 1914. Anniston, Alabama. "Housing conditions at Adelaide Mill. The village is run down and greatly in need of sanitary improvements." Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.

Another selection from the LOC archives of Alfred Palmer's strikingly composed large-format black-and-white transparencies shot in December 1941 at factories in Akron and Cleveland. White Motor Company, Cleveland, Ohio. "Halftrac scout cars. Putting precision-made pistons assemblies into precision-made cylinders is a job that fits this former auto worker. The engine will be the power plant of an Army halftrac scout car. The Midwest plant that is turning it out has trained American automotive workers for every job on the line." View full size. 4x5 nitrate negative by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information.

December 1936. Dickens, Iowa. "Part of the L.H. Nissen family of ten living in a three-room shack. Rest of family at school. The whole house was of unusually high humidity. The wife said they could not dry out the bedding because of the poor ventilation. This is the living room and kitchen combined." View full size. Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Resettlement Administration.

December 1936. "Washstand in corner of kitchen of Edgar Allen's home on farm near Milford, Iowa. Contrast this with washstand picture of Harry Madsen farm, tenant house." View full size. Medium format negative by Russell Lee.

Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.